Week of teacher strikes in a class all its own

UPDATE: Evergreen Public Schools and the Evergreen Education Association reached a tentative agreement early Sunday morning. A contract vote is set for 3 p.m. Sunday. If the contract is ratified, schools in Evergreen will resume Monday. A pact was also reached at Longview, which could put students in that district back in classes on Tuesday.

It was a dizzying week for teacher strikes in Clark County.

Southwest Washington remained the busiest hub of union activity in the state, marked by midnight settlements, continued picketing and, on Friday, the largest demonstration of educators and their supporters thus far.

As of press time Saturday, teachers in two districts — Evergreen Public Schools and Battle Ground Public Schools — remained on strike, while five settled contracts early this week. In Longview, meanwhile, a Cowlitz County judge ordered educators back to school Friday, issuing a preliminary injunction to teachers, secretaries and classified staff, according to The Daily News in Longview.

Here’s the latest on contract negotiations in Clark County:

Evergreen Public Schools

Evergreen Public Schools and the Evergreen Education Association reached a tentative agreement early Sunday morning. A contract vote is set for 3 p.m. Sunday. If the contract is ratified, schools in Evergreen will resume Monday. A pact was also reached at Longview, which could put students in that district back in classes on Tuesday.

The county’s largest district has 26,000 students, meaning nearly a third of Clark County’s 80,000 public school students have been out of school for nearly two weeks. The most recent salary scale known as of Friday offers new teachers in the district at $51,288. After 16 years with a master’s degree and 90 continuing education credits, teachers would top out at $98,279. According to the district, teachers would see an average salary of $80,687.

Battle Ground Public Schools

Battle Ground teachers remained on strike Friday. With nearly 14,000 students, Battle Ground is Clark County’s third-largest district. Battle Ground’s latest salary offer would start new teachers at $50,019, topping out after 16 years with a master’s degree and 90 continuing education credits at $94,629. According to the district, that puts teachers’ average salary at $74,315.

Vancouver Public Schools

Vancouver Public Schools teachers voted Tuesday to approve a new contract by 92.4 percent. The three-year contract raises salaries an average of 13.6 percent, putting the district’s salary range for teachers between $50,413 for a brand new teacher to $95,019 for a teacher with a master’s degree, 90 credits of continuing education and 16 years experience. In the two years following, teachers will see inflationary raises reflecting the cost of living, about 2 percent per year. The Vancouver Education Association differed from most districts in that it was negotiating a full contract, not just its salary scale. The contract will also make 31 Mondays early-release days in the district, with students getting off 40 minutes early so teachers can have planning and collaboration time.

Camas School District

Camas teachers narrowly avoided striking at all with a deal Sunday night that union members approved unanimously. With the new two-year salary schedule, teachers will see an average 12.5 percent increase in their total compensation. The new salary range for this school year will run from $50,727 to $97,529, and from $52,868 to $100,110 for the 2019-2020 school year.

Washougal School District

Washougal teachers are the most recent to ratify their contract, voting unanimously Thursday to approve a salary scale that provides an 18 percent increase in total compensation in year one for teachers and another roughly 5 percent raise in the second year, with a salary range of $51,434 to $96,944 in the first year and $53,005 to $99,906 in the second. That’s a 23.2 percent increase in total compensation in the two-year deal. That puts Washougal’s raises among the top in the state.

Ridgefield School District

Ridgefield’s bargaining team came to an agreement at about 4 a.m. Monday, just soon enough to put students back in class on Tuesday. Ridgefield, like Vancouver, was also negotiating a full contract. The three-year deal gives teachers a 16 percent increase in total compensation this year, then 5 percent increases in years two and three. The salary range for year one will be $48,346 to $95,788, $49,546 to $98,165 in year two and $50,774 to $100,598 in year three. That’s an overall increase in total compensation of 26 percent from this past school year.

Hockinson School District

Hockinson teachers voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement, a two-year deal that gives teachers a 14.5 percent increase in total compensation this upcoming school year to a range of $49,578 to $93,445. The following year, teachers will see an inflationary increase of 2 percent.

And for readers asking about La Center, we’d like to know details of that contract, too. The district quietly settled a contract and went back to school on time, a school secretary told a Columbian editor, but repeated calls to the district have yielded no answers on the specifics of the settlement. No information is available on the district’s website or social media pages.